There was no shortage of hearty laughter resonating at the Sundre Arts Centre recently during several theatre productions of a comedy put on by the Peak Theatre Players.
“The production panned out very well, it was definitely a crowd pleaser,” said Jason Bird, Peak Theatre Players president.
Most of the shows, which were held May 8-12, were near capacity with a couple even selling out. In all, 550 people attended the five performances, said Bird.
The group had been rehearsing for a number of months for the play, Jack of Diamonds, written by Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes. It tells the tale of a close group of seniors who were duped out of their retirement savings by Barney Effward, an unscrupulous conman who makes Bernie Madoff seem like an upstanding individual.
Hilarity ensued as the friends found themselves plotting a way to get even upon discovering Barney, who was faking being in a coma, was temporarily transferred to be their roommate in a private retirement home in a bid to escape the public’s wrath after his schemes are exposed.
With another successful production under its belt, Peak Theatre will be starting its reading committee this summer to consider some scripts to determine the next play, said Bird, adding the best way for people to get involved is to attend auditions, or alternatively email [email protected].
The group also welcomes anyone interested in helping out behind the scenes, he said.
Stern nurse Harper, played by Jane Cummins, force-feeds fraudulently “comatose” conman Barney, played by Keegan Smith, while tech-savvy Rose, played by Colette Belanger, navigates her tablet.
Nigel Miller, right, played the role of Jack, a former diamond salesman, who in this scene was posing as a doctor in an attempt to convince the conman’s lawyer Alice Mortimer, played by Julie Younglove, to stop from transferring the fraudulently “comatose” Barney, played by Keegan Smith, to another facility. Simon Ducatel/MVP Staff
Fran Vida played the role of forgetful Flora, who intended to exact revenge on Barney, the conman who duped not only her and her friends out of their retirement savings but also many others. Although the close-knit group of seniors decided against carrying out their plot, the change of plans slipped her mind, and Fran pulled the trigger after shooting blindly into the dark room, leaving the audience in suspense wondering about the con artist’s fate during the intermission. Simon Ducatel/MVP Staff
